5 Energy Stocks Loved By Billionaire Leon Cooperman

These energy stocks could be set to skyrocket

Let’s face facts: You don’t get to be a billionaire by moving with the herd.

Leon Cooperman, former Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO and current portfolio manager of $8.4 billion hedge fund Omega Advisors, has made a career in not following the market’s general direction. Cooperman has been quoted as saying, “If I could buy a company selling below its net asset value and getting a decent yield, I’ll buy it.”

That focus on value seeking has led to some pretty gutsy and contrarian calls, and ultimately has turned out to be quite profitable for the fund. Since founding Omega in 1991, Cooperman’s annual returns have averaged around 16% per year.

Lately, while most of the market has been selling stocks and burying their heads in the sand, Cooperman has been buying equities hand over fist — with the largest purchases mostly in energy companies. Overall, the energy and basic materials sectors are his largest holdings and make up around 33% of his total portfolio.

For investors, some of his contrarian calls in the energy sector could prove to be quite profitable in the years ahead.